It's not a pretty thought, but marriages break up, littering an already tough time with financial negotiations and hardships. The Wall Street Journal recommends holding off on selling assets in a down market, among other best practices for divorce.

The Journal's basic recommendations of being cooperative, looking for lower-cost alternatives than high-powered lawyer battles, and being flexible are all worth reinforcing, as bitterly divorced acquaintances might have, well, less rational stories to tell. One notable bit of more modern advice, however, involves splitting up the bigger assets, like investments:

Advertisement

Hold off on cashing out assets. For many couples, it's not worth it to cash out their investments right now, says Marlene Eskind Moses, president-elect of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. Instead, they should consider dividing holdings in kind and waiting to regain some value.

One party might, say, agree to take the house in lieu of taking half of the pension or 401(k) plans of the other party, Ms. Smetters says.

Also mentioned in the article is a new kind of thinking when it comes to post-divorce housing. Instead of splitting into two residences and shuttling children between them, couples can consider keeping them in one house and splitting their time in it. That's happening with the (forgive us) Jon and Kate Plus 8 split-up, and it's how career blogger Penelope Trunk's divorce worked out.

If you've been through a divorce or legal separation and can give a brief elevator pitch on how to avoid financial fights and difficulties, whether from experience or hindsight, feel free to share it in the comments.